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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. season — in sport
  4. ground — a position
  5. clip — to cut
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — rain
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. firm — a company
  11. shower — to wash
  12. firm — decided
  13. pound — a weight
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — for paper
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. firm — steady
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — a video
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com